Sanderson
United States v. Sanderson
Opinion
Opinion
Walker, J.
SENTENCING ORDER
This case is before the court for sentencing of defendant Michael Wayne Sanderson, who was convicted by a jury on December 17, 1997, on three counts: (1) conspiracy to export cocaine in violation of 21 USC §§ 963 and 953(a); (2) conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 USC §§ 846 and 841(a)(1) and (3) aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 18 USC § 2 and 21 USC § 841 (a)(1).
The relevant facts are provided in the presentence report and the parties’ sentencing memoranda. Sanderson is an Australian citizen who has been in federal custody since his arrest on February 27, 1996. Acting on information received from Australian officials, federal customs agents detained codefendants Mark Duggan and Euripidis Mitrou as they were boarding a flight from San Francisco to Sydney on February 26, 1996. Agents searched Dug-gan and Mitrou and found a total of 7.9 kilograms of cocaine in packages strapped to their bodies. Further investigation led agents to Sanderson and codefendant Jaime Basalo, who were staying in a San Francisco hotel. When officers detained Basalo and Sanderson, they discovered in…